Making the perfect butt hinge pattern…
May 1, 2009 by admin
Filed under Router Tips
The old saying that your project is only as good as your pattern is so true when using the Router. Making a pattern to install door hinges is no different. Check out the play by play videohere!
Here is a couple of photos of our version on the finished hinge jig for entry Door.
I found that confusing as most but hinges are just mortised in, not the hole piece removed as in your play by play. I thought when you started out with the bit and bushing you were just going to rout the thickness of the hinge??
Bruce: This tip is not cutting the mortise for the butt hinges in the door but is making the pattern that will be used to make this cut with the guide, router bit and pattern. I have added a photo to the post showing the jig used to cut the mortises into the door and jam.
Confusion also. Wondered why in later graphic it showed a router bearing in lieu of a guide bushing. I finally reached the conclusion that the guide bushing is used only to compute the math and has no relevance subsequently. Also had trouble until your explanation to Bruce that you were not cutting the mortise.
Graphics are too small. Do not understand the material that Rick & Bob are holding.
OK Robert: In order to cut the mortise in the door and jamb we need a guide, pattern and router bit.
This tip is about making the Pattern.
1) In order to make the correct pattern to put the hinge into the door and jam we need to decide first what guide to use (my choice 1/2″ guide) and what router bit to use (my choice 1/4″ spiral bit). Now for the math: The difference between the guide and router bit is 1/4″.
2) The guide and bit offset is 1/4″ so the pattern needs to be 1/4″ larger than the hinge in order to make the pattern work with the chosen guide and router bit. To create the offset we use the 1/4″ brass bar and the hinge to make the pattern. The pattern made is shown in photo 2 of this post.
3) Next we need to make three of these patterns then join them together at the correct distance allowing us to mortise the three hinges in the correct place on both the Door and Jam. Photo 1 shows the three patterns positioned together to make the cuts into the door and jam. We use this jig to make all hinge mortises so the position is always the same for all doors/jams throughout the house.
Rick:
At first, I too was confused wondering about the use of a bushing in the first phase of the explanation and then seeing a flush trim bit. However, if one listens to your dialog closely, it is obvious that you are showing the viewer how to make a pattern that will later be used along with the bushing and 1/4″ bit for actually mortising the hinge.
Please, keep up the great work. We don’t need a showman for these tutorials, we need a craftsman. And that you are, my man. I’ll skip over the lack of showmanship and lack of fancy graphics so that I can get to the real “meat” of your explanations, which always leave me saying, “Oh that’s the way to do that!”.
Rick,
You showed a 1/4″ offset in the pattern for each end of the hinge, but what about the edge(side opposite the pins) of the hinge? Shouldn’t there be a 1/4″ offset there also?
James:
Good question: Here are our thoughts, when making these patterns you need to keep this measurement open and able to accommodate all thicknesses of doors. So if you think that you will be hanging 2″ thick doors as your maximum door thickness then the length of the pattern on the sides needs to be at least 2″. Please note when hanging the door you set the back of the pattern to a 1/4″ thinner than the door thickness. For the 2″ example the back of the pattern will be at 1 3/4″ from the edge of the door and jamb.
Bob and Rick